Radial tires - evil or not?
#16
#17
Hello Aussiecowboy,
I certainly am no guru, but I would be surprised if many cars generally in Oz are travelling on other than radials. I don't know what some of the real cheap Asian tyres are that you see advertised, but any decent car or muscle car in Oz is surely going to be on radials.
I remember reading, probably in the sixties some well known road tester in Popular Mechanics, comparing bias ply tyres to radials and he raved about the radials as I recall.
When my rearend change to Ford 8.8 is finished in a few days, I am looking forward to buying mags for it and then radial WWW tyres. My mechanic has got it so it doesn't wander much at all now but reckons radials will transform it, better ride, steering and cornering. I hope he is right as the tyres alone will be about $1600, but I want radials anyway, nothing I have read about bias ply tyres makes me want them long term on my truck.
There seem to be several tyre businesses around that sell WWW tyres, John Cain is one and I will probably get him to ship me some, about $70 I believe from Sydney to Brissie. Shame to get rid of the bias ply WWW in a way as they look great and are just about new. Actually the Diamond Back radials in that link is what I am interested in.
I read somewhere, a lot of traditional rodders in the USA like bias ply tyres for the straight up and down sidewalls as opposed to the rounded sidewalls on radials.
Cheers and you are going great guns with your truck, it looks wonderful.
PS Abe, mixing bias ply and radial tyres is considered highly dangerous here and I believe is illegal in OZ. Did your tyre man say anything about it? You have done it for years you said and are happy with it. It is possible that having the radials on the front and bias on the back might be more of a problem though I don't know at all.
I certainly am no guru, but I would be surprised if many cars generally in Oz are travelling on other than radials. I don't know what some of the real cheap Asian tyres are that you see advertised, but any decent car or muscle car in Oz is surely going to be on radials.
I remember reading, probably in the sixties some well known road tester in Popular Mechanics, comparing bias ply tyres to radials and he raved about the radials as I recall.
When my rearend change to Ford 8.8 is finished in a few days, I am looking forward to buying mags for it and then radial WWW tyres. My mechanic has got it so it doesn't wander much at all now but reckons radials will transform it, better ride, steering and cornering. I hope he is right as the tyres alone will be about $1600, but I want radials anyway, nothing I have read about bias ply tyres makes me want them long term on my truck.
There seem to be several tyre businesses around that sell WWW tyres, John Cain is one and I will probably get him to ship me some, about $70 I believe from Sydney to Brissie. Shame to get rid of the bias ply WWW in a way as they look great and are just about new. Actually the Diamond Back radials in that link is what I am interested in.
I read somewhere, a lot of traditional rodders in the USA like bias ply tyres for the straight up and down sidewalls as opposed to the rounded sidewalls on radials.
Cheers and you are going great guns with your truck, it looks wonderful.
PS Abe, mixing bias ply and radial tyres is considered highly dangerous here and I believe is illegal in OZ. Did your tyre man say anything about it? You have done it for years you said and are happy with it. It is possible that having the radials on the front and bias on the back might be more of a problem though I don't know at all.
#18
PS Abe, mixing bias ply and radial tyres is considered highly dangerous here and I believe is illegal in OZ. Did your tyre man say anything about it? You have done it for years you said and are happy with it. It is possible that having the radials on the front and bias on the back might be more of a problem though I don't know at all.
#21
Antique tyres in Melbourne. There is also a guy near Brisbane who is cheaper but the freight from him to me eats up the saving.
The decision is made, I'll be going radials in 7.50 x 16 WWW. I need tyres for some of my other cars also so I'm actually looking at bringing 20-25 tyres in from the states, a bigger range to choose from and will save quite a few dollars. I'd like to but from Universal Tire but was quoted $1200 to freight them from Hershey to Pomona CA where they need to be shipped from. Still cheaper though. As an example, I need some 7.50x15 bar tread military tyres, $153 in the states, $279 here, exact same tyre.
AX Racer, me thinks you might be right on the bias plys. I wouldn't tube a tubeless tyre, was talking about tubeless vs. tube type tyres.
The decision is made, I'll be going radials in 7.50 x 16 WWW. I need tyres for some of my other cars also so I'm actually looking at bringing 20-25 tyres in from the states, a bigger range to choose from and will save quite a few dollars. I'd like to but from Universal Tire but was quoted $1200 to freight them from Hershey to Pomona CA where they need to be shipped from. Still cheaper though. As an example, I need some 7.50x15 bar tread military tyres, $153 in the states, $279 here, exact same tyre.
AX Racer, me thinks you might be right on the bias plys. I wouldn't tube a tubeless tyre, was talking about tubeless vs. tube type tyres.
#22
A few years back my buddies advised me to replace my old bias ply tires with radials on my 55 Fairlane. First off, I didn't like the look. They lowered the car about two inches. People were asking we if I had installed a lowering kit! Then I noticed that it was very difficult to turn the wheel while parking and turning at slow speeds. It was so bad that I bought a power steering set up for $1,000. But, before I installed it, the white walls started shredding on the rims. My car was covered in little pieces of rubber like you would get if you used an eraser on a paper. Coker, being the great company that they are, offerred to replace the tires with bias plys. I accepted their offer and immediately noticed that I no longer had a problem turning the steering wheel at low speeds. (Goodby power steering installation) So, I say go with the bias ply and proudly show the autenticity of your truck. JMTCW Jag
#23
I had bias ply www's on my 55' vette just because it was the right thing to do. That sucker was all over the road following any uneven pavement or groove in the road. What a nightmare. Being a die hard, I changed the steering box, dumb. It was the tires. Went to radials, no brainer, it drove great after that.
#25
Out of numerous threads on this topic, here and on other sites, this is a debate that seems to go on forever, lol. I guess my first question is, if it's evil, why haven't we heard about failures and such on here, or other sites?
56panelford posted a link to dbtires. Here's another that was given to me on another site I was on earlier today. http://www.dbtires.com/rimstress.html
But to play devil's advocate, here's another link on that same thread that talks about cracking a bit: http://www.sema.org/files/attachment...el-Fitment.pdf
And one more thing to think about is "safety wheels", the wheels with the inside step to prevent tires from totally slipping off in the event of a blow out.
I brought this up since I'm trying to decide what to use for my own truck.
56panelford posted a link to dbtires. Here's another that was given to me on another site I was on earlier today. http://www.dbtires.com/rimstress.html
But to play devil's advocate, here's another link on that same thread that talks about cracking a bit: http://www.sema.org/files/attachment...el-Fitment.pdf
And one more thing to think about is "safety wheels", the wheels with the inside step to prevent tires from totally slipping off in the event of a blow out.
I brought this up since I'm trying to decide what to use for my own truck.
#26
#27
I had radials on my 54 on stock rims from 1999 to last sept. They needed replaced. Actually to pass PA inspection I had to replace two tires two years ago so I it bias ply on the front and kept the radials on the rear. This Sept. I put bias plies on the rear, also. The radials made the truck ride smoother and take bumps and RR tracks easier. But parking was a bear! Backing into my garage in which I need to turn a 90 degree was very hard. The modern bias plies ride pretty good and steering is a breeze. I feel the looks, and ease of steering out way the other benefits of radials.
#28
I think that radial tires are the best. To use them takes a little planing when at low speeds as long as the vehicle is moving the least little bit you can turn fairly easy. If you are stationary then the full contact they provide becomes a problem. Also for radials the toe-in, toe-out needs to be adjusted, and tire pressure is much more critical, 2 pounds can make a big difference in handling.
Bruce
Bruce
#29
Guess I'll stir the pot on this. Most of what is written on this subject, here and elsewhere, describes guys' individual experiences. Testimonials. Very little scientific info that I've found focuses on the radial tire and its impact on car and light truck wheels.
I have cited here previously that the Budd Company in 1970 presented SAE study evidence showing that radials transmit increased lateral loads to rims which resulted in high failure rates for their company. Budd redesigned big truck wheels (the Ledge Weld and Bevel Weld discussion we had a while back) to address this. While an argument can be made that these big truck findings don't necessarily apply to car and light truck wheels, there is evidence that they might apply.
First, the manufacturers' long held practice of riveting rims to center discs ceased during the 1960s in favor of fully welded centers. Is there a connection related to the expansion of the radial tire market during those years? I don't know, and haven't found a reference to answer that question.
Second, I have Budd and Accuride catalogs as late as 1979 that specifically reference which of their light truck products are and are not approved and warranted for use with radial tires. These include common one piece SRW 16" x 6" wheels. In Budd's case they proudly state that they added a letter "R" to the part number of radial approved lines (stamped into the rim, i.e. R89340). Accuride stamped into the rim a letter R located inside a circle O on approved lines. They made a point of stating that some other letter R found stamped but not surrounded by that circle did not meet the standard.
There's an unwritten reason for these exclusions which isn't hard to figure out. At minimum it seems prudent, when running old riveted rims, to stay with bias ply tires. Stu
I have cited here previously that the Budd Company in 1970 presented SAE study evidence showing that radials transmit increased lateral loads to rims which resulted in high failure rates for their company. Budd redesigned big truck wheels (the Ledge Weld and Bevel Weld discussion we had a while back) to address this. While an argument can be made that these big truck findings don't necessarily apply to car and light truck wheels, there is evidence that they might apply.
First, the manufacturers' long held practice of riveting rims to center discs ceased during the 1960s in favor of fully welded centers. Is there a connection related to the expansion of the radial tire market during those years? I don't know, and haven't found a reference to answer that question.
Second, I have Budd and Accuride catalogs as late as 1979 that specifically reference which of their light truck products are and are not approved and warranted for use with radial tires. These include common one piece SRW 16" x 6" wheels. In Budd's case they proudly state that they added a letter "R" to the part number of radial approved lines (stamped into the rim, i.e. R89340). Accuride stamped into the rim a letter R located inside a circle O on approved lines. They made a point of stating that some other letter R found stamped but not surrounded by that circle did not meet the standard.
There's an unwritten reason for these exclusions which isn't hard to figure out. At minimum it seems prudent, when running old riveted rims, to stay with bias ply tires. Stu
#30
Great timing. This SEMA paper on the radial/bias debate was linked today on the Studebaker Truck Talk forum. Stu
http://www.sema.org/files/attachment...el-Fitment.pdf
http://www.sema.org/files/attachment...el-Fitment.pdf